Watford defender Porteous in Scotland's Euros squad

The Watford defender missed the club’s final game of the season away at Middlesbrough to help him prepare for his international duties.

He will be one of two Watford players featuring at the tournament, with Giorgi Chakvetadze already named in the Georgia squad.

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Two of the 28 players named by Scotland boss Steve Clark today (Wednesday) in his initial squad will miss out.

A goalkeeper will almost certainly be one of them, but the other is open to debate although with seven central defenders and eight midfielders, it seems likely it will be one of those 15.

However, Porteous is pretty much assured of his place on the plane with BBC Scotland’s chief sport writer Tom English describing him as “a shoo-in” alongside Kieran Tierney, Jack Hendry and Scott McKenna.

The 25-year-old defender joined Watford from Hibernian for a fee believed to be around £500,000 during the 2023 January transfer window.

Last season he made 40 appearances and scored three goals for the Hornets, taking his totals for the club to 57 outings and five goals.

Porteous has been capped 10 times by his country, making his debut in a 0-0 draw against the Ukraine in a Nations League game in September 2022.

He played in seven of their Euro 24 qualifiers, and scored his first international goal in a 3-0 away win in Cyprus in September.

The defender also played in a friendly against England at Hampden Park, and his most recent cap was in 4-0 away friendly defeat to Holland in March.

The Scots have two friendlies ahead of the finals, away to Gibraltar on Monday June 3, and at home against Finland on Friday June 7.

Scotland, who will be based in Garmisch-Partenkirschen during Euro 2024, are preparing for their fourth visit to the finals.

They played in 2020, but before that their two previous qualifications were in 1992 and 1996.

Qualifying as runners-up in Group A behind Spain, who inflicted their only defeat, the Scots have been drawn in Group A in the finals.

They will face hosts Germany in Munich in the opening game on Friday June 14, before taking on Switzerland (June 19) and Hungary (June 23).

Girogi Chakvetadze playing for Georgia against Luxembourg (Image: PA)

Chakvetadze and Georgia will be playing in their first-ever major tournament finals.

They finished fourth in Group A behind Spain, Scotland and Norway, but their performance in the Nations League earned them a spot in the play-offs.

Having beaten Luxembourg 2-0 in the semi-final, they then drew 0-0 with Greece in the final and won 4-2 on penalties.

Chakvetadze, who is the only UK-based player in the Georgian squad, signed permanently for Watford for €2.5m in January, after initially joining on loan from Belgian side KAA Gent.

He made 37 appearances for the Hornets last season, 20 of them from the bench, and netted his first goal for the club in the 4-1 home defeat to Bristol City on Boxing Day.

The 24-year-old has been capped 24 times and scored eight goals for his country, playing in six of their eight qualifiers and both the play-off games.

The Georgians will be based in Velbert for the finals in Germany, and are in Group F.

Their first game is against Turkey on June 18, and then they face Czech Republic (June 22) and Portugal (June 26).